Method for conveying ap error codes over ble advertisements

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatus for obtaining status from an isolated AP that cannot connect to a remote management server are described. The status information is obtained from a second device and then provided, via the second device, to the remote management server. At least some of the disclosed embodiments are utilized in a system including a plurality of access points, which can provide alternate pathways to the remote management server. The remote management server determines a remedial action based on the status information.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Pat. Application No.17/081,331, filed 27 Oct. 2020, entitled “Method for Conveying AP ErrorCodes over BLE Advertisements,” which is a continuation of U.S. Pat.Application No. 16/296,902, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,862,742, filedMar. 8, 2019, the entire content of each application is incorporatedherein by reference.

FIELD

One exemplary aspect relates to monitoring wireless communicationssystems and, more particularly, to methods and/or apparatus fordetermining a root cause of a network node, such as an access point(AP), not being able to connect to the backhaul network. This networknode will be referred to as an isolated node.

BACKGROUND

An Access Point (AP) is a networking hardware device that allows a Wi-Fidevice to connect to a wireless and/or wired network via Wi-Fi. The APusually connects to a router (via a wired network) and is typically astandalone device, but the AP can also be an integral component of therouter itself. While an exemplary aspect will be discussed in relationto the isolated node being an AP, it is to be appreciated that thetechnology described herein can be used with any networking device(s).

When for any reason an AP fails to connect to a wired network, allclients that rely on that AP for their communications lose their abilityto communicate with devices attached to the wired network. Because ofthe criticality of the connectivity between the AP and the wirednetwork, most network management/monitoring systems monitor theconnectivity of the AP using keep-alive messages, or other similartechniques. If a network monitoring system detects a loss ofconnectivity between an AP and the wired network, an IT technician isinformed via, for example, an alert message and is tasked with debuggingand repairing the issue. Similarly, the loss of connectivity of an AP tothe wired network affects all mobile device wireless terminals (WT)associated with the specific AP. As such, the loss of connectivity maybe detected by the WT and reported to an IT technician by any of the WTusers.

Connectivity of an AP to a wired network relies on multiplefunctions/services that the wired network facilitates. These servicesinclude, but are not limited to, authentication, authorization,accounting, IP address resolution, etc. Failure of an AP to connect to awired network could be a result of a failure in any one of theseservices/functions. Often the abovementioned services are provided byequipment from different vendors or from a vendor different than themanufacturer of the Wi-Fi AP. To accelerate the debugging process, itcan be beneficial to obtain information about the failure from the pointof view of the isolated AP. However, because the isolated AP cannotconnect to the wired network and/or the cloud, the Network ManagementSystem (NMS) cannot probe the isolated AP and request the AP to senddebugging information the AP may have such as: error logs, message logs,connectivity logs, etc., and in general any information related to itsoperation (and/or failures).

When an IT technician wants to obtain debugging information that anisolated AP may have, such as error log, sequences of recent messages,etc., a person needs to go onsite to collect the information from thespecific isolated AP that failed to connect to the wired network.Debugging information can be, and usually is, collected from theisolated AP by connecting a data collection device, such as a PC/laptop,and downloading the debugging information from the AP to the datacollection device. Many companies consolidated their field supportoperations, and consequently, the field support centers may be locatedin a remote site other than the site where the isolated AP is located.To reduce the cost of collecting debugging information from an AP thatcannot connect to the backhaul network, companies devised a simple LEDbased method for obtaining rudimentary debugging information from an AP.

When an isolated AP detects failure such as inability to connect to thebackhaul network (the cloud), it analyzes the internal debugginginformation (including finding pattern of abnormal message flows, timerexpiration when awaiting a reply message from another server, etc.),formats a message to facilitate the debugging process and conveys thedebugging information to nearby observers by blinking a specificsequence of LEDs. The sequence may, and often does, use LEDs withdifferent colors, change the duration of the LED blinking, change thefrequency of the blinking, etc. Similar status messages may be conveyedto a nearby observer about normal operation of the AP. For example, ablue LED always on may convey a message that at least one WT isassociated with the AP, a green LED always on may convey a message thatno error was detected, etc.

Still, even with the LEDs, debugging requires as onsite observeravailable to spend time with a remote technician in support of thedebugging process.

What is needed is a system that can facilitate conveying debugginginformation from an isolated AP, that cannot connect with thenetwork/cloud, to IT personnel without requiring any onsite support.

SUMMARY

APs were first developed and used to provide wireless connectivity toWTs. With the increased importance of determining the location of mobileterminals, beacons were installed in an area of interest. Mobiledevices, in the vicinity of the beacons, measure the (Received SignalStrength Indicator) RSSI of signals from each beacon and report it to alocation engine over a Wi-Fi network. The location engine then uses theRSSI measurements from each terminal to determine the location of eachmobile wireless terminal.

The specifics of determining the location of a user based on RSSI signalfrom their wireless device are described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,743,254“Method And Apparatus Relating To The Use Of Received Signal ToDetermine Wireless Terminal Location And/Or Refine LocationDetermination Models,” which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

In accordance with one exemplary aspect, the beacon signal is aBluetooth® Low Energy (BLE) signal, however, those skilled in the artwill recognize that other beacons at other frequencies and/or powerand/or protocols are covered by the described technology.

Since both the Wi-Fi AP and the location beacons need to providecoverage to the same or similar areas, it is only natural thatmanufacturers combined the functionality of these two devices into asingle appliance.

In accordance with one exemplary aspect, under normal operations, thiscombined AP device utilizes a first frequency to establish a Wi-Ficommunication with a WT and second frequency, e.g., BLE, to enable theWT location estimations. A mobile device, e.g., a WT, receives thebeacon signal from a plurality of beacons. Each beacon signal isbroadcast periodically, e.g., once per second, and carries the ID of thespecific beacon. The mobile device measures the RSSI received from eachbeacon and reports the RSSI back to the location engine. Reporting ofthe RSSI can be, and often is, done over the Wi-Fi network. Inaccordance with some aspects, the RSSI reporting can be done over BLE,or any other available network connectivity.

During operation, different components of the network are monitored by anetwork monitoring server. For example, network components may, andoften do, send a periodic status and/or keep-alive message to themonitoring server(s). When a component experiences an issue, thecomponent sends an error message to the monitoring service informing themonitoring service of the issue(s). The error message may containadditional information, e.g., internal log information, which can help atechnician in the process of determining the root cause of the fault.

When the fault causes an AP to lose connectivity/communication with thenetwork, the monitoring server can still detect the fault by detectingthe absence of the keep-alive message. However, in this scenario, themonitoring server cannot access the logging information or any otherstatus information in the isolated AP. To access the logging/faultinformation, an IT technician may need to be dispatched to the sitewhere the fault occurred. Once on-site, the technician may connect tothe AP via a local wireless connection, or via a wired connection, anddownload the information logged at the isolated AP. For companies thatdo not have a technician onsite, the process of collecting the loggedinformation from a faulty isolated AP may be a costly proposition. Tofacilitate collection of information from a faulty AP, equipmentmanufacturers use a simple LED based method for obtaining rudimentarydebugging information from an AP.

When an AP detects a failure, such as inability to connect to the cloudor lost connectivity to a wired network, the AP can analyze the internaldebugging information, format a message to facilitate the debuggingprocess and convey or communicate the debugging information to nearbyobservers by blinking a specific sequence of LED(s). The sequence may,and often does, use LEDs with different colors, change the duration ofthe LED blinking, change the frequency of the blinking, etc. Similarly,status messages may be conveyed to a nearby observer about normaloperation of the AP. The observer may, and often does, record the LEDblinking sequence and convey it to the IT maintenance team. For example,the observer may capture the LED blinking sequence by recording a shortvideo clip of the blinking LED(s) and attach it to an IT fault reportingticket, or just send it to the IT technician.

The LED blinking sequence can, and often does, utilize a single LED. Anexemplary blinking message can, and often does, start with a singleblink followed by a short pause and a sequence of consecutive blinks.The single blink marks the start of a message and the number ofconsecutive blinks denotes an error code number. For example, 1 blinkfollowed by 2 blinks corresponds to error code 2 which signifies thatthe AP cannot reach the cloud. One blink followed by a pause andconsecutive six blinks corresponds to error code 6 which signifies thatmutual authentication between the AP and the cloud is failing.

Alternatively, the LED sequence may, and often does, utilize multipleLEDs with different colors, or a single LED capable of emittingdifferent colors. The specifics of the encoding the error code into asequence of blinking LED(s) is not essential for the disclosedtechnology.

While the ability of an AP to convey its status by emitting a sequenceof either single color or multi-color LED blinks alleviates the need tosend a trained technician onsite for debugging a faulty AP, the methodstill requires manual intervention.

When an AP detects that it cannot connect to the backhaul network and/orto the cloud, the error reporting module (ERM) examines the internal logand creates a message that could facilitate identifying the root causeof the fault. In accordance with one aspect, the message contains theerror code that the LED(s) are blinking. In accordance with anotheraspect, the ERM creates a comprehensive message which would have beenmore difficult to capture by simply observing the LED. For example, theERM may create a message that includes the sequence of messages betweenthe AP and the backhaul network (the cloud) leading to denial ofassociating the AP with the backhaul network. The specifics of themessage are not essential for this disclosure and the technologydiscussed herein can work with any message that automatically notifiesthe monitoring server that the AP cannot perform some function, such asassociate with the network, and provide information that facilitatesdetermining the root cause of the fault.

In accordance with a specific aspect, once the monitoring servicedetermines the root cause of the fault, it may, and often does,automatically initiate a recovery mechanism.

As explained above, when an AP detects that it cannot connect with thenetwork the ERM forms a message (or selects one of multiple cannedmessages) to be sent to the monitoring server. Since the isolated APcannot associate with the network, the message cannot be sent via thenormal backhaul link, which usually utilizes a wired connection to agateway, a switch, or to a router. In accordance with another specificaspect, the backhaul link may be a wireless link such as a radio-basedlink, a fiber optic link, or any other communications means.

To overcome this isolation issue, an exemplary aspect utilizes thebeacon signal. As explained, this beacon signal can be part of thelocation system. The message that the ERM formed is passed to thebroadcast beacon, e g., the BLE location beacon. Upon receiving themessage from the ERM, the beacon transmitter broadcasts the message fromthe ERM. In accordance with an exemplary aspect, the beacon system ofeach AP includes a transmitter and a receiver capable of listening forbeacon messages from neighboring APs.

During normal operations, when an AP receives a normal location beaconmessage from a neighboring AP, which includes the ID of the beacon, thereceiver ignores this message. However, when a receiver detects that abroadcast beacon message from a neighboring AP includes an error codeand/or any additional debugging information, the receiving AP firstdetermines if the AP has connectivity to the cloud. If the AP does, thenthe AP utilizes its backhaul connectivity and forwards the receivedmessage from the isolated AP to the monitoring server on behalf of theisolated AP.

If the receiving AP cannot connect to the cloud or network, it cannotforward directly the received message to the monitoring server. Inaccordance with one aspect, the receiving AP simply ignores the receivedmessage from the neighboring AP in this scenario. However, since thereceiving AP does not have a backhaul communication link, its ERM can,and often does, form its own error message and broadcast the errormessage using its own location beacon.

In accordance with yet another aspect, the ERM of the receiving AP formsa message that includes the ID(s) of the respective neighboring isolatedAP(s) which also cannot connect to the cloud/network. This enhancedstatus message is then transmitted using the location beacon of thereceiving AP and helps the monitoring server assess the scope of theissue.

Once the neighboring AP receives the error and/or debugging informationfrom the isolated AP, the neighboring AP forwards the error and/ordebugging information to the network monitoring server to which itusually sends its own status and/or keep alive. However, any otherserver address may be configured as a recipient of error/debuggingmessages received from a neighboring isolated AP. In accordance withanother aspect, the receiving device may be a mobile device such as amobile phone whose location is tracked using the location server. Inthis case, the mobile device is configured to send RSSI information fromneighboring beacons to a location server. When the mobile devicereceives an error message from an isolated device over, e g., BLEbroadcast, the mobile device may, and often does, forward the errormessage to the IP address of the location server the mobile deviceknows, and the location server in turn recognizes the message as anerror message and forwards it to the network management server and morespecifically to the network monitoring system which is part of thebroader network management system.

In a redundant system, different APs utilize different backhaul channelsand employ different servers to attach to the network. As such, thesystem assumes that at least one of the APs is still able to establish aconnection to the cloud and facilitate the forwarding of error broadcastmessages from an isolated neighboring APs to the monitoring server.

In accordance with another aspect, other devices such as mobile devices,WTs, etc., that receive the broadcast error message may be used toconvey the error message to the network monitoring server.

When the monitoring server receives an error and/or debugging messagefrom the ERM of an isolated AP that cannot connect to the cloud, themonitoring server analyzes the message and invokes a corrective action.Illustrative corrective actions include, but are not limited to,alerting an IT technician about the issue, displaying detailedinformation about the root cause of the issue on a screen of an ITtechnician, restarting a Dynamic Host Control Protocol (DHCP) server,restarting an AP, restarting a router, restarting a switch, restarting agateway (GW), restarting an authentication, authorization, andaccounting (AAA) server, etc.

Numerous variations on the above described method and apparatus arepossible and will be apparent in view of the detailed description whichfollows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The aspects herein may be better understood by referring to thefollowing description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich like reference numerals indicate identically or functionallysimilar elements, of which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary aspect of a networkenvironment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary aspect of wirelessaccess point.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary aspect of networkmanagement system that determines which SLE (Service Level Expectation)deterioration would require manual intervention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary aspect of networknode server.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary aspect ofcommunication device such as UE.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary aspect of an AP processfor monitoring connectivity to the cloud and taking an action when itcannot connect to the cloud.

FIG. 7 is an example for table of error codes and corresponding LEDsequences.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an aspect of a process for a devicereceiving a broadcast error message from an isolated AP which is notable to connect to the cloud.

FIG. 9A is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary aspect of anapplication server such as a location server process receiving an errormessage reporting about an AP which is not able to connect to the cloud.

FIG. 9B is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary aspect of a networkmanagement process receiving an error message reporting about an APwhich is not able to connect to the cloud.

FIG. 10 is an illustration of an exemplary table 1000 which providesexamples of automated corrective measures associated with error codes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system 100. Exemplary system 100includes a plurality of access points (API 166, . . . , AP X 168, AP 1′186, . . . , AP X′ 188), a plurality of Authentication, Authorizationand Accounting (AAA) servers (only one AAA server 110 is shown), aplurality of Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) servers (onlyone DHCP server 116 is shown), a plurality of Domain Name System (DNS)severs (only one DNS server 122 is shown), a plurality of Web servers(only one Web server 128 is shown), a plurality of Location servers(only one Location server 134 is shown), and a network management system(NMS) 136, e.g., an access point management system, which are coupledtogether via network 150, e.g., the Internet and/or an enterpriseintranet and/or a LAN and/or WAN.

Network communications links (127, 129, 123, and 125,) couple the accesspoints (API 166, AP X 168, AP 1′ 186, AP X′ 188), respectively, tonetwork 150 using gateways or routers (R1 170, RY 172, R1′ 190, and RY′192) respectively. Network communications link 111 couples the AAAservers (only one AAA server 110 is shown) to network 150. Networkcommunications link 113 couples the DHCP servers (only one DHCP server116 is shown) to network 150. Network communications link 115 couple theDNS servers (only one DNS server 122 is shown) to network 150. Networkcommunications link 117 couple the Web servers (only one Web server 128is shown) to network 150. Network communications link 119 couple theLocation servers (only one Location server 134 is shown) to network 150.

The exemplary system 100 further includes a plurality of user equipmentdevices (UE 1 162, ... , UEZ 164, UE 1′ 182, ... , UE Z′ 184). At leastsome of the UEs (162, 164, 182, 184) are wireless mobile devices (suchas a smartphone) which may move throughout system 100.

In exemplary system 100, sets of access points are located at differentcustomer premise sites. Customer premise site 1 160, e.g., a mall,includes access points (AP 1 166, ... , AP X 168). Customer premise site2 180, e g., an office, includes access points (AP 1′ 186, . . . , AP X′188). As shown in FIG. 1 , UEs (UE 1 162, . . . , UE Z 164) arecurrently located at customer premise site 1 160; UEs (UE 1′ 182, . . ., UE Z′ 184) are currently located at customer premise site 2 180.

In addition to facilitating Wi-Fi communication for wireless terminalsUE 1, UE Z, UE 1′, and UE Z′, access points AP1, AP X, AP1′, and AP X′also broadcast beacon signals. Wireless terminals UE 1, UE Z, UE 1′, andUE Z′ receive the beacon signals, measure the RSSI and report the RSSIvia the Wi-Fi link and routers R1, RY, R1′, and RY′, to the locationserver 134. The measured RSSIs are then used by the location servers tocalculate the location of the respective wireless mobile terminals.Beacon signals from any AP are often received by a neighboring AP andignored.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary access point 200 (e.g., access points AP1 166, ... , APX 168, AP 1′ 186, . . . , APX′ 188) in accordance with anexemplary aspect.

Access point 200 includes wired interfaces 230, wireless interfaces 236,242, a processor 206, e.g., a CPU, a memory 212, and an assembly ofmodules 208, e.g., assembly of hardware modules, e.g., assembly ofcircuits, coupled together via a bus 209 over which the various elementsmay interchange data and information. Wired interface 230 includesreceiver 232 and transmitter 234. The wired interface couples the accesspoint 200 to a network and/or the Internet such as 150 of FIG. 1 viarouters such as R1, RY, R1′, and RY′. First wireless interfaces 236 maysupport a Wi-Fi interface, e.g. IEEE 802.11 interface, and includesreceiver 238 coupled to receive antenna 239, via which the access pointmay receive wireless signals from communications devices, e.g., wirelessterminals, and transmitter 240 coupled to transmit antenna 241 via whichthe access point may transmit wireless signals to communicationsdevices, e.g., wireless terminals.

Second wireless interface 242 may support Bluetooth® communicationswhich includes receiver 244 coupled to receive antenna 245, via whichthe access point may receive wireless signals from neighboringcommunications devices (e.g., other access points, wireless terminals,etc.) and transmitter 246 coupled to transmit antenna 247 via which theaccess point may transmit wireless signals (e.g., beacon signals,broadcast messages, etc.) to communications devices, (e.g., other accesspoints, wireless terminals, etc).

Memory 212 includes routines 214 and data/information 216. Routines 214include assembly of modules 218, e.g., an assembly of software modules,and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) 220. Data/information 216includes software configured to store and/or obtain configurationinformation 222, log information 224 and manage error reporting for theERM 226 which monitors connectivity of the AP to the cloud 150. Upondetecting that the AP cannot connect to the cloud, the AP, and inparticular the ERM 226, formulates a message to be sent to themonitoring system 136 of FIG. 1 . The message is then conveyed to abeacon and broadcast via beacon transmitter 246 to neighboring APs. Thebroadcast error message from an isolated AP, which was disconnected fromthe network 150, is received by a wireless receiver 244 in a neighboringAP(s). Assuming that the neighboring AP has connectivity to the cloud150, this neighboring AP conveys the received error message to thenetwork management system 136 of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary network management and monitoring system300, e.g., a wireless system monitoring server, an access pointmanagement node, or the like, in accordance with an exemplary aspect. Insome aspects, the network monitoring system 300 of FIG. 3 is networkmanagement system (NMS) 136 of FIG. 1 . Network management system 300includes a communications interface 330, e.g., an Ethernet interface, aprocessor 306, an output device 308, e.g., display, printer, etc., aninput device 310, e.g., keyboard, keypad, touch screen, mouse, etc., amemory 312 and an assembly of modules 340, e.g., assembly of hardwaremodules, e.g., assembly of circuits, coupled together via a bus 309 overwhich the various elements may interchange data and information.Communications interface 330 couples the network monitoring system 300to a network and/or the Internet 150 of FIG. 1 . Communicationsinterface 330 includes a receiver 332 via which the network monitoringsystem can receive data and information, e.g., including service relatedinformation, (e.g., keep alive messages from various APs, error messagesfrom various network components of network 100, etc.), and a transmitter334, via which the network monitoring system 300 can send data andinformation, e.g., including configuration information and instructions,e.g., instructions to access points to restart, change transmissionpower, add an SSID, instruction to cloud servers (e.g., AAA server, DHCPserver, DNS server, etc.) instructing them to take corrective actionssuch as update their software, restart the server, etc. The networkmanagement system can use the output module 308 to display status ofvarious network components, error messages, debugging relatedinformation, etc.

Memory 312 includes routines 314 and data/information 317. Routines 314include assembly of modules 318, e.g., an assembly of software modulesand/or instructions and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) 320.Data/information 317 includes configuration information 322 as well assoftware for the operation of the component status and error messageanalyzer 324 and collection of remedial actions 326 to be taken when thenetwork management system determines that an AP cannot connect to thecloud 150.

The remedial actions may be configured by the system administrator basedon past experience(s). In accordance with some aspects, the remedialactions can be automatically invoked as soon as the network managementserver determines the root cause of the network fault. This root causecan be determined by detecting a loss of keep alive message from aspecific AP and/or by analyzing error message(s) from another AP whichwas broadcast using the beacon signal.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary node 400, e.g., AAA server, DHCP server,DNS server, Web server, Location server, etc. In some aspects, node 400of FIG. 4 is server 110, 116, 122, 128, 134, of FIG. 1 . Node 400includes a communications interface 402, e.g., an Ethernet interface, aprocessor 406, an output device 408, e.g., display, printer, etc., aninput device 410, e.g., keyboard, keypad, touch screen, mouse, etc., amemory 412 and an assembly of modules 416, e.g., assembly of hardwaremodules, e.g., assembly of circuits, coupled together via a bus 409 overwhich the various elements may interchange data and information.Communications interface 402 couples the network node 400 to a networkand/or the Internet. Communications interface 402 includes a receiver420 via which the node can receive data and information, (e.g.,including operation related information, e.g., registration request, AAAservices, DHCP requests, RSSI information, Simple Notification Service(SNS) look-ups, and Web page requests, etc.), and a transmitter 422, viawhich the node server 400 can send data and information, (e.g.,including configuration information, authentication information, webpage data, etc).

Memory 412 includes routines 428 and data/information 430. Routines 428include assembly of modules 432, e.g., an assembly of software modulesand data/information 430.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary client such as UE 500 (e.g., userequipment UE 1 162, . . . , UE Z 164, UE 1′ 182, . . . , UE Z′ 184) inaccordance with an exemplary aspect.

UE 500 includes optional wired interfaces 502, wireless interfaces 504,a processor 506, e.g., a CPU, a memory 512, and an assembly of modules516, e.g., assembly of hardware modules, e.g., assembly of circuits,coupled together via a bus 509 over which the various elements mayinterchange data and information. Wired interface 502 includes receiver520 and transmitter 522. The wired interface couples the UE 500 to anetwork and/or the Internet 150 of FIG. 1 .

The wireless interface 504 includes cellular interface 524, firstwireless interface 526, e.g., 802.11 WiFi interface, and a secondwireless interface 528, e.g., Bluetooth® interface. The cellularinterface 524 includes a receiver 532 coupled to receiver antenna 533via which the access point may receive wireless signals from accesspoints, e.g., AP 1 166, . . . , APX 168, AP 1′ 186, . . . , APX′ 188,and transmitter 534 coupled to transmit antenna 535 via which the accesspoint may transmit wireless signals to APs, e.g., AP 1 166, . . . , APX168, AP 1′ 186, . . . , APX′ 188. First wireless interface 526 maysupport a Wi-Fi interface, e.g. 802.11 interface, and includes receiver536 coupled to receive antenna 537, via which the UE may receivewireless signals from communications devices, e.g., APs, and transmitter538 coupled to transmit antenna 539 via which the UE may transmitwireless signals to communications devices, e.g., APs. Second wirelessinterface 528 may support Bluetooth® which includes receiver 540 coupledto receive antenna 541, via which the UE may receive wireless signalssuch as broadcasted beacon signals from communications devices, e.g.,APs, and transmitter 542 coupled to transmit antenna 543 via which theUE may transmit wireless signals to communications devices, e.g., APs,smart watch, etc.

Memory 512 includes routines 528 and data/information 517. Routines 528include assembly of modules 515, e.g., an assembly of softwaremodules/instructions. Data/information 517 may include configurationinformation as well as any additional information required for normaloperations of UE 500.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 600 used by anAP. The process starts in step 605 and proceeds to step 610 where the APinitiates connection to the network 150 such as the enterprise intranet,the internet or in general to the cloud. In step 615 the AP monitors themessage exchange with the various servers that control and facilitatethe association of the AP with the cloud 150. The process proceeds tostep 620 where the message exchange and/or the internal status of the APis stored in a log.

The process proceeds to step 625 where the connectivity of the AP withthe cloud 150 is monitored. AP may fail to connect to the cloud orotherwise, it may lose connectivity after initial connectivity has beenachieved. For example, as part of the monitoring process, the AP may,and often does, send keep-alive messages to the NMS 136 and monitor thereply acknowledgement messages from the NMS.

The process continues to step 630 where the AP determines if the AP isstill connected to the network. If the method detects that the AP isstill connected to the network, the process loops back to 615 where theprocess continues to monitor the communication between the AP and thenetwork including communication with other servers attached to the cloud150.

However, it the method determines at step 630 that the AP cannot connectto the network or has lost connectivity to the network, the processcontinues to step 635 where the ERM module of the isolated AP forms,generates, assembles or selects an error message(s). Once the errormessage(s) is established in step 635, the process continues to step 640where the error message is optionally displayed by the LED(s) informingobservers in the vicinity of the isolated AP about the nature of thefailure. The process then continues to step 645 where the error messageis conveyed to the transmitter for the location beacon such astransmitter e.g., module 246 of FIG. 2 , and broadcast over the wirelesschannel, e.g., over a BLE radio frequency. The process then loops backto step 610 where the process retries to establish connectivity to thenetwork. The process of retrying to connect to the network/cloud may bea single event, a few attempts before stopping the attempt, or repeatedperiodically optionally after rebooting, or the like.

FIG. 7 is an illustrative example of error codes and corresponding LEDsequences 700 shown in table form. Column 710 illustrates various errorcodes that facilitate an exemplary way to convey information aboutspecific issues that an isolated AP may encounter. Column 720 providesan example of a sequence of blinking that may visually convey an errorcode to an observer near the AP. For example, the sequence of LEDblinking to convey an error code 1 is a blink, short pause (denoted bythe + sign) followed by a single blink, long pause, and then repeat thissequence. To convey error code 2 the LED follows the following sequence:a blink, short pause followed by 2 blinks, long pause, and then repeatthis sequence. In general, to convey error code n the LED follows thefollowing sequence: a blink, short pause followed by a n blinks, longpause, and then repeat this sequence. Column 730 provides verbalexplanations about the nature of the error and column 710 provides theserial number of each error code.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 800 used by aneighboring device, e.g., an AP, WT, etc., that receives the broadcasterror message from an isolated AP which is not being able to connect tothe network/cloud.

In general, the isolated device broadcasts a message which includes itsdevice ID as well as a trouble code, such as the codes described in FIG.7 , column 710. The receiving device takes the ID of the isolated deviceand trouble code (which it has received over the broadcast BLE channel)and forms a message to be sent over a normal e.g., IP LAN/WAN connectedto the network management server. The payload in this message includesthe ID of the isolated AP and the trouble code received from that AP.

These broadcasted messages are not sent too frequently, and thereceiving devices keep a track of how many of each message type from thetroubled entity are received. It then periodically reports this to theNMS with a count. This also allows the system to cleanly report when thetrouble goes away, as the receiving entity will notice a drop andeventual disappearance of the trouble code.

The process starts step 805 and proceeds to step 810 where the methodmonitors broadcast beacon messages, e.g., BLE beacon messages. In step815 the received beacon message is analyzed and a determination madewhether the received broadcast message is a normal beacon message suchas beacon messages that are used to facilitate identifying the locationof mobile terminals.

If the method at step 815 determines that the received beacon message isa normal broadcast beacon message, the method loops back to step 810 andcontinues to monitor the airways for additional broadcast beaconmessages. It should be noted that some devices may utilize the normalbeacon message for other applications such as to facilitate determiningthe location of the device. For example, if the system determines thatthe beacon message is a normal beacon message used for locationdetermination, a mobile device forms a location application specificmessage which includes the ID of the beacon and the RSSI of the beaconmessage and forwards it to the location server such as the locationserver 134 of FIG. 1 . However, the disclosed technology addresses thetreatment of specific beacon messages such as broadcasted error message,treatment of normal, non-error messages can optionally be ignored.

If in step 815 it is determined that the received broadcast beaconmessage is an error message from an isolated AP, the method proceeds tostep 820. In step 820, it is checked whether the device that receivedthe error message is connected to the network/cloud. If it is determinedthat the device that received the error message is not connected to thenetwork/cloud, the process continues to step 635 of FIG. 6 where thedevice that received the error message may, and often does, alsobroadcast an error beacon message.

However, if in step 820 it is determined that the device that receivedthe error message is connected to the network/cloud, the processcontinues to step 825 where an appropriate message is formed. Thismessage may, and often does, include the error code received from theisolated AP which was not able to connect to the cloud. In accordancewith another aspect the message may include also any additionalinformation about the root cause of the issues experienced by the APprior to its inability to connect to the cloud.

The process continues to step 830 where the message from step 825 istransmitted via the cloud/network to the network monitoring server. Ifthe receiving device is one that has the IP address of the networkmanagement, the device may, and often does, send the message directly tothe network management system. If the receiving device is a mobiledevice that is tuned to receive the BLE beacon and forward the RSSI fromdifferent beacons to the location server, such as server 134 of FIG. 1 ,the mobile device may, and often does, send the formatted error messageto the IP address of the location server which would in turn recognizethis message and forward it to the network management server 136. Theprocess then loops back to step 810.

FIG. 9A is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 900 a used byan application server such as location server 134. The process starts instep 905 and proceeds to step 910 where the messages are received, suchas messages received via internet receiver e.g., receiver 420 of FIG. 4. The received messages are analyzed in step 915 for whether they aremessages from a neighboring device reporting about an isolated AP whichcannot connect to the network/cloud.

If in step 915 it is determined that the received message is a normalapplication related message, e.g., a location related message from amobile device reporting RSSI from a broadcasted beacon, and not amessage from a neighboring device reporting about an isolated AP whichdoes not have connectivity to the cloud, control loops back to step 910and the system waits for a next received message. The utilization ofthis normal application specific message, such as RSSI message forlocation processing, is highlighted in step 917.

However, if in step 915 it is determined that the received message is amessage from a neighboring device such as e.g., mobile device reportingabout an isolated AP which cannot connect to the network/cloud, theprocess continues to step 920 where the method forwards the message withthe ID of the isolated AP, the error code, and optionally any additionaldebugging information to the network monitoring server such as server136 of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 9B is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process 900 b used by anetwork management server 136. The process starts in step 950 andproceeds to step 960 where the messages are received, such as messagesreceived via internet receiver e.g., receiver 332 of FIG. 3 . Thereceived messages are analyzed in step 965 for whether they are messagesfrom a neighboring device reporting about an isolated AP which cannotconnect to the network/cloud. As previously indicated, these messagesmay be sent directly by the neighboring device to the network monitoringdevice, or alternatively, these messages may be sent by the receivingdevice to an application server such as the location server, which inturn forwards the message error message from the isolated AP to thenetwork monitoring server 136.

If in step 965 it is determined that the received message is not amessage from a neighboring device reporting about an isolated AP whichdoes not have connectivity to the cloud, the method proceeds to step 967where the network management system processes the messages in accordancewith its normal operations which has nothing to do with our inventionand as such is not elaborated in this write-up. The method then loopsback to step 960 and the network monitoring system waits for a nextreceived message.

However, if in step 965 it is determined that the received message is amessage from a neighboring device reporting about an isolated AP whichcannot connect to the network/cloud, the process continues to step 970where the method invokes a corrective measure. The simplest correctivemeasure involves alerting an IT technician via a message on a screensuch as module 308 of FIG. 3 or sending an alert message via a textmessage, an email, or an outbound call. According to another aspect thenetwork management system invokes an automated corrective measure e.g.,one or more of restarting a DHCP server, restarting AAA server,restarting a router, restarting a switch, reconfiguring a firewall,reconfiguring a server, etc. The specific remedial measure that thesystem should take in response to receiving a specific effort messagecan be, and often are, configured by an IT technician, or simplyprogrammed into the system.

FIG. 10 is an illustration of an exemplary table 1000 which providesexamples of automated corrective measures associated with error codes.Column 1010 of FIG. 10 , which is the same as column 710 of FIG. 7 ,illustrates various error codes that facilitate an exemplary way toconvey information about specific issues that an AP may encounter. Theseerror codes originate at an isolated AP that cannot connect to thenetwork/cloud, received by a neighboring device via a broadcast beaconmessage such as via Bluetooth® or BLE (or comparable communicationprotocol), and conveyed by the neighboring device connected to thenetwork/cloud via a Wi-Fi link or a cellular link. When the networkmonitoring server, which is a part of the network management system,receives and analyzes the message, network monitoring server uses column1020 of table 1000 to identify an appropriate remedial action. Examplesof such remedial messages are provided in column 1020.

Numerous additional variations on the above described methods andapparatus are possible.

The techniques of various embodiments may be implemented using software,hardware and/or a combination of software and hardware. Variousembodiments are directed to apparatus, e.g., mobile nodes, mobilewireless terminals, base stations, e.g., access points, communicationssystem. Various embodiments are also directed to methods, e.g., methodof controlling and/or operating a communications device, e.g., wirelessterminals (UEs), base stations, control nodes, access points and/orcommunications systems. Various embodiments are also directed tonon-transitory machine, e.g., computer, readable medium, e.g., ROM, RAM,CDs, hard discs, etc., which include machine readable instructions forcontrolling a machine to implement one or more steps of a method.

It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in theprocesses disclosed is an example of exemplary approaches. Based upondesign preferences, it is understood that the specific order orhierarchy of steps in the processes may be rearranged while remainingwithin the scope of the present disclosure. The accompanying methodclaims present elements of the various steps in a sample order and arenot meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

In various embodiments devices and nodes described herein areimplemented using one or more modules to perform the steps correspondingto one or more methods, for example, signal generation, transmitting,processing, and/or receiving steps. Thus, in some embodiments variousfeatures are implemented using modules. Such modules may be implementedusing software, hardware or a combination of software and hardware. Insome embodiments each module is implemented as an individual circuitwith the device or system including a separate circuit for implementingthe function corresponding to each described module. Many of the abovedescribed methods or method steps can be implemented using machineexecutable instructions, such as software, included in amachine-readable medium such as a memory device, e.g., RAM, floppy disk,etc. to control a machine, e.g., general purpose computer with orwithout additional hardware, to implement all or portions of the abovedescribed methods, e.g., in one or more nodes. Accordingly, among otherthings, various embodiments are directed to a machine-readable mediume.g., a non-transitory computer readable medium, including machineexecutable instructions for causing a machine, e.g., processor andassociated hardware, to perform one or more of the steps of theabove-described method(s). Some embodiments are directed to a deviceincluding a processor configured to implement one, multiple or all ofthe steps of one or more methods of the one exemplary aspect.

In some embodiments, the processor or processors, e.g., CPUs, of one ormore devices, e.g., communications devices such as wireless terminals(WT), user equipment (UEs), and/or access nodes, are configured toperform the steps of the methods described as being performed by thedevices. The configuration of the processor may be achieved by using oneor more modules, e.g., software modules, to control processorconfiguration and/or by including hardware in the processor, e.g.,hardware modules, to perform the recited steps and/or control processorconfiguration. Accordingly, some but not all embodiments are directed toa communications device, e.g., user equipment, with a processor whichincludes a module corresponding to each of the steps of the variousdescribed methods performed by the device in which the processor isincluded. In some but not all embodiments a communications deviceincludes a module corresponding to each of the steps of the variousdescribed methods performed by the device in which the processor isincluded. The modules may be implemented purely in hardware, e.g., ascircuits, or may be implemented using software and/or hardware or acombination of software and hardware.

Some embodiments are directed to a computer program product comprising acomputer-readable medium comprising code for causing a computer, ormultiple computers, to implement various functions, steps, acts and/oroperations, e.g. one or more steps described above. Depending on theembodiment, the computer program product can, and sometimes does,include different code for each step to be performed. Thus, the computerprogram product may, and sometimes does, include code for eachindividual step of a method, e.g., a method of operating acommunications device, e.g., a wireless terminal or node. The code maybe in the form of machine, e.g., computer, executable instructionsstored on a computer-readable medium such as a RAM (Random AccessMemory), ROM (Read Only Memory) or other type of storage device. Inaddition to being directed to a computer program product, someembodiments are directed to a processor configured to implement one ormore of the various functions, steps, acts and/or operations of one ormore methods described above. Accordingly, some embodiments are directedto a processor, e.g., CPU, graphical processing unit (GPU), digitalsignal processing (DSP) unit, etc., configured to implement some or allof the steps of the methods described herein. The processor may be foruse in, e.g., a communications device or other device described in thepresent application.

Numerous additional variations on the methods and apparatus of thevarious embodiments described above will be apparent to those skilled inthe art in view of the above description. Such variations are to beconsidered within the scope of this disclosure. The methods andapparatus may be, and in various embodiments are, used with BLE, LTE,CDMA, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), and/or variousother types of communications techniques which may be used to providewireless communications links between access nodes and mobile nodes. Insome embodiments the access nodes are implemented as base stations whichestablish communications links with user equipment devices, e.g., mobilenodes, using OFDM and/or CDMA. In various embodiments the mobile nodesare implemented as notebook computers, personal data assistants (PDAs),or other portable devices including receiver/transmitter circuits andlogic and/or routines, for implementing the methods.

In the detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of some embodiments. However,it will be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art that someembodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In otherinstances, well-known methods, procedures, components, units and/orcircuits have not been described in detail so as not to obscure thediscussion.

Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with various devices andsystems, for example, a User Equipment (UE), a Mobile Device (MD), awireless station (STA), a wireless terminal (WT), a Personal Computer(PC), a desktop computer, a mobile computer, a laptop computer, anotebook computer, a tablet computer, a server computer, a handheldcomputer, a handheld device, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) device,a handheld PDA device, an on-board device, an off-board device, a hybriddevice, a vehicular device, a non-vehicular device, a mobile or portabledevice, a consumer device, a non-mobile or non-portable device, awireless communication station, a wireless communication device, awireless Access Point (AP), a wired or wireless router, a wired orwireless switch, a wired or wireless modem, a video device, an audiodevice, an audio-video (A/V) device, a wired or wireless network, awireless area network, a Wireless Video Area Network (WVAN), a LocalArea Network (LAN), a Wireless LAN (WLAN), a Personal Area Network(PAN), a Wireless PAN (WPAN), and the like.

Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with devices and/or networksoperating in accordance with existing Wireless-Gigabit-Alliance (WGA)specifications (Wireless Gigabit Alliance, Inc. WiGig MAC and PHYSpecification Version 1.1, April 2011, Final specification) and/orfuture versions and/or derivatives thereof, devices and/or networksoperating in accordance with existing IEEE 802.11 standards (IEEE802.11-2012, IEEE Standard for Information technology—Telecommunicationsand information exchange between systems Local and metropolitan areanetworks—Specific requirements Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium AccessControl (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications, Mar. 29, 2012;IEEE802.11ac-2013 (“IEEE P802.11ac-2013, IEEE Standard for InformationTechnology—Telecommunications and Information Exchange BetweenSystems—Local and Metropolitan Area Networks—Specific Requirements—Part11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY)Specifications—Amendment 4: Enhancements for Very High Throughput forOperation in Bands below 6 GHz”, December, 2013); IEEE 802.11ad (“IEEEP802.11ad-2012, IEEE Standard for InformationTechnology—Telecommunications and Information Exchange BetweenSystems—Local and Metropolitan Area—Specific Requirements—Part 11:Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY)Specifications—Amendment 3: Enhancements for Very High Throughput in the60 GHz Band”, 28 December, 2012); IEEE-802.11REVmc (“IEEE802.11-REVmcTM/D3.0, June 2014 draft standard for Informationtechnology— Telecommunications and information exchange between systemsLocal and metropolitan area networks Specific requirements; Part 11:Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY)Specification”); IEEE802.11-ay (P802.11ay Standard for InformationTechnology—Telecommunications and Information Exchange Between SystemsLocal and Metropolitan Area Networks—Specific Requirements Part 11:Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY)Specifications—Amendment: Enhanced Throughput for Operation inLicense-Exempt Bands Above 45 GHz)), IEEE 802.11-2016 and/or futureversions and/or derivatives thereof, devices and/or networks operatingin accordance with existing Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) Alliance (WFA)Peer-to-Peer (P2P) specifications (Wi-Fi P2P technical specification,version 1.5, August 2014) and/or future versions and/or derivativesthereof, devices and/or networks operating in accordance with existingcellular specifications and/or protocols, e.g., 3rd GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP), 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) and/or futureversions and/or derivatives thereof, units and/or devices which are partof the above networks, or operate using any one or more of the aboveprotocols, and the like.

Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with one way and/or two-wayradio communication systems, cellular radio-telephone communicationsystems, a mobile phone, a cellular telephone, a wireless telephone, aPersonal Communication Systems (PCS) device, a PDA device whichincorporates a wireless communication device, a mobile or portableGlobal Positioning System (GPS) device, a device which incorporates aGPS receiver or transceiver or chip, a device which incorporates an RFIDelement or chip, a Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) transceiver ordevice, a Single Input Multiple Output (SIMO) transceiver or device, aMultiple Input Single Output (MISO) transceiver or device, a devicehaving one or more internal antennas and/or external antennas, DigitalVideo Broadcast (DVB) devices or systems, multi-standard radio devicesor systems, a wired or wireless handheld device, e.g., a Smartphone, aWireless Application Protocol (WAP) device, or the like.

Some embodiments may be used in conjunction with one or more types ofwireless communication signals and/or systems, for example, RadioFrequency (RF), Infra-Red (IR), Frequency-Division Multiplexing (FDM),Orthogonal FDM (OFDM), Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access(OFDMA), FDM Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM), Time-Division MultipleAccess (TDMA), Multi-User MIMO (MU-MIMO), Spatial Division MultipleAccess (SDMA), Extended TDMA (E-TDMA), General Packet Radio Service(GPRS), extended GPRS, Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA), WidebandCDMA (WCDMA), CDMA 2000, single-carrier CDMA, multi-carrier CDMA,Multi-Carrier Modulation (MDM), Discrete Multi-Tone (DMT), Bluetooth,Global Positioning System (GPS), Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, ZigBee™, Ultra-Wideband(UWB), Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 3.5G,4G, Fifth Generation (5G), or Sixth Generation (6G) mobile networks, 3GPP, Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE advanced, Enhanced Data rates forGSM Evolution (EDGE), or the like. Other embodiments may be used invarious other devices, systems and/or networks.

Some demonstrative embodiments may be used in conjunction with a WLAN(Wireless Local Area Network), e g., a Wi-Fi network. Other embodimentsmay be used in conjunction with any other suitable wirelesscommunication network, for example, a wireless area network, a“piconet”, a WPAN, a WVAN, and the like.

Some demonstrative embodiments may be used in conjunction with awireless communication network communicating over a frequency band of2.4 Ghz, 5 GHz and/or 60 GHz. However, other embodiments may beimplemented utilizing any other suitable wireless communicationfrequency band(s), for example, an Extremely High Frequency (EHF) band(the millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency band), e.g., a frequency bandwithin the frequency band of between 20 GhH and 300 GHz, a WLANfrequency band, a WPAN frequency band, a frequency band according to theWGA specification, and the like.

While the above provides just some simple examples of the various deviceconfigurations, it is to be appreciated that numerous variations andpermutations are possible. Moreover, the technology is not limited toany specific channels, but is generally applicable to any frequencyrange(s)/channel(s). Moreover, and as discussed, the technology may beuseful in the unlicensed spectrum.

Although embodiments are not limited in this regard, discussionsutilizing terms such as, for example, “processing,” “computing,”“calculating,” “determining,” “establishing”, “analyzing”, “checking”,or the like, may refer to operation(s) and/or process(es) of a computer,a computing platform, a computing system, a communication system orsubsystem, or other electronic computing device, that manipulate and/ortransform data represented as physical (e.g., electronic) quantitieswithin the computer’s registers and/or memories into other datasimilarly represented as physical quantities within the computer’sregisters and/or memories or other information storage medium that maystore instructions to perform operations and/or processes.

Although embodiments are not limited in this regard, the terms“plurality” and “a plurality” as used herein may include, for example,“multiple” or “two or more”. The terms “plurality” or “a plurality” maybe used throughout the specification to describe two or more components,devices, elements, units, parameters, circuits, or the like. Forexample, “a plurality of stations” may include two or more stations.

It may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words andphrases used throughout this document: the terms “include” and“comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion withoutlimitation; the term “or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases“associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivativesthereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with,interconnected with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with,couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave,juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a propertyof, or the like; and the term “controller” means any device, system orpart thereof that controls at least one operation, such a device may beimplemented in hardware, circuitry, firmware or software, or somecombination of at least two of the same. It should be noted that thefunctionality associated with any particular controller may becentralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. Definitions forcertain words and phrases are provided throughout this document andthose of ordinary skill in the art should understand that in many, ifnot most instances, such definitions apply to prior, as well as futureuses of such defined words and phrases.

The exemplary embodiments have been described in relation tocommunications systems, as well as protocols, techniques, means andmethods for performing communications, such as in a wireless network, orin general in any communications network operating using anycommunications protocol(s). Examples of such are home or accessnetworks, wireless home networks, wireless corporate networks, and thelike. It should be appreciated however that in general, the systems,methods and techniques disclosed herein will work equally well for othertypes of communications environments, networks and/or protocols.

For purposes of explanation, numerous details are set forth in order toprovide a thorough understanding of the present techniques. It should beappreciated however that the present disclosure may be practiced in avariety of ways beyond the specific details set forth herein.Furthermore, while the exemplary embodiments illustrated herein showvarious components of the system collocated, it is to be appreciatedthat the various components of the system can be located at distantportions of a distributed network, such as a communications network,node, within a Domain Master, and/or the Internet, or within a dedicatedsecured, unsecured, and/or encrypted system and/or within a networkoperation or management device that is located inside or outside thenetwork. As an example, a Domain Master can also be used to refer to anydevice, system or module that manages and/or configures or communicateswith any one or more aspects of the network or communicationsenvironment and/or transceiver(s) and/or stations and/or access point(s)described herein.

Thus, it should be appreciated that the components of the system can becombined into one or more devices, or split between devices, such as atransceiver, an access point, a station, a Domain Master, a networkoperation or management device, a node or collocated on a particularnode of a distributed network, such as a communications network. As willbe appreciated from the following description, and for reasons ofcomputational efficiency, the components of the system can be arrangedat any location within a distributed network without affecting theoperation thereof. For example, the various components can be located ina Domain Master, a node, a domain management device, such as a MIB, anetwork operation or management device, a transceiver(s), a station, anaccess point(s), or some combination thereof. Similarly, one or more ofthe functional portions of the system could be distributed between atransceiver and an associated computing device/system.

Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the various links, includingany communications channel(s)/elements/lines connecting the elements,can be wired or wireless links or any combination thereof, or any otherknown or later developed element(s) capable of supplying and/orcommunicating data to and from the connected elements. The term moduleas used herein can refer to any known or later developed hardware,circuitry, software, firmware, or combination thereof, that is capableof performing the functionality associated with that element. The termsdetermine, calculate, and compute and variations thereof, as used hereinare used interchangeable and include any type of methodology, process,technique, mathematical operational or protocol.

Moreover, while some of the exemplary embodiments described herein aredirected toward a transmitter portion of a transceiver performingcertain functions, or a receiver portion of a transceiver performingcertain functions, this disclosure is intended to include correspondingand complementary transmitter-side or receiver-side functionality,respectively, in both the same transceiver and/or anothertransceiver(s), and vice versa.

The exemplary embodiments are described in relation to enhancedcommunications. However, it should be appreciated, that in general, thesystems and methods herein will work equally well for any type ofcommunication system in any environment utilizing any one or moreprotocols including wired communications, wireless communications,powerline communications, coaxial cable communications, fiber opticcommunications, and the like.

The exemplary systems and methods are described in relation to IEEE802.11 and/or Bluetooth® and/or Bluetooth® Low Energy transceivers andassociated communication hardware, software and communication channels.However, to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present disclosure, thefollowing description omits well-known structures and devices that maybe shown in block diagram form or otherwise summarized.

Exemplary aspects are directed toward a method for mitigating, by anetwork monitoring server, the root cause of an AP not having a firstcommunication channel with the cloud, the method comprising: collecting,by the isolated AP, information related to the root cause; upondetecting, by the isolated AP, that it cannot connect to the cloud overfirst communication channel, forming a status message; using a beaconsignal over a second communication channel to broadcast the formedmessage; receiving, by a neighboring device the formed status messagefrom the isolated AP over a second broadcasted channel; transmitting, bythe neighboring device, the status message to the network monitoringserver over a third communication channel; receiving, by the networkmonitoring server, the status message and automatically invoking amitigating action.

Any of the above aspects, wherein collecting, by the isolated AP,information related to the root cause comprises of logging the messageexchange between the AP and other servers attached to the cloud;analyzing the message exchange and determining abnormal messages orabsence of reply messages from network attached servers.

Any of the above aspects, wherein forming a status message comprises:determining by the isolated AP an abnormal message flow; mapping theabnormal message flow of claim 2 to an error code; forming an errormessage with one or more of the elements comprising the error code,messages from isolated AP to servers attached to the cloud, messagesreceived by the isolated AP from servers attached to the cloud, and/ortimeout events detected by the isolated AP.

Any of the above aspects, wherein using a beacon signal over a secondcommunication channel to broadcast the formed message comprises one ormore of stop sending the normal beacon information and replace it withbroadcasting the error message, alternate between sending normal beaconinformation and broadcasting the formed error message, broadcast theerror message once over the beacon channel and then resume broadcastingnormal beacon information.

Any of the above aspects, wherein first communication channel is a Wi-Fior wireless communication channel. Any of the above aspects, wherein thesecond channel is a BLE broadcast communication channel. Any of theabove aspects, wherein the third communication channel is one of a wiredinternet backhaul connectivity, a wireless Wi-Fi connectivity, and acellular connectivity. Any of the above aspects, wherein invoking acorrection measures comprises one or more of restarting a networkattached device, configuring a network attached device, displaying errormessage, and/or providing formed error message information to atechnician. Any of the above aspects, wherein the network attachedserver is one of DHCP server, AAA server, DNS server, a router, aswitch, a proxy server, a firewall.

Additional exemplary aspects are directed toward a method to mitigate aroot cause of an access point not having connectivity with a networkcomprising detecting, by an isolated access point, that connectivity tothe network over a first communication channel has failed, automaticallygenerating or acquiring, by a processor and memory, a status messagerelated to the connectivity failure, automatically broadcasting, using abeacon signal, and over a second communication channel different thanthe first communication channel, the status message, receiving, by aneighboring device, the status message from the isolated access pointover the second communication channel, forwarding via transmitting, bythe neighboring device, the status message to a network monitoringserver over a third communication channel, the third communicationchannel being different than the first and second communicationschannels, receiving, at the network monitoring server, the statusmessage, and automatically invoking a mitigating action for the isolatedaccess point.

Any of the above aspects, further comprising logging messages exchangedbetween the isolated access point and other servers, analyzing themessage exchange; and determining abnormal messages or an absence ofreply messages from the other servers.

Any of the above aspects, further comprising, determining by theisolated access point an abnormal message flow, mapping the abnormalmessage flow to an error code, forming an error message comprising oneor more of the error code, messages from the isolated access point toone or more other devices, messages received by the isolated accesspoint from one or more other devices, and/or timeout events detected bythe isolated access point.

Any of the above aspects, wherein a normal beacon signal is not sentafter the failure, the normal beacon signal being replaced with thebeacon signal that includes the status message, the normal beacon signalis not always sent after the failure, the normal beacon signal beingalternated with the beacon signal that includes the status message; orthe normal beacon signal is not sent after the failure, the normalbeacon signal being replaced with the beacon signal that includes thestatus message, then normal beacon signal broadcasting resumes.

Any of the above aspects, wherein first communication channel is a wiredcommunication channel. Any of the above aspects, wherein the secondchannel is a Bluetooth broadcast communication channel. Any of the aboveaspects, wherein the third communication channel is one of: a wiredcommunication channel, an Ethernet communication channel, a wiredinternet backhaul communication channel, a Wi-Fi communication channel,and a cellular communication channel. Any of the above aspects, furthercomprising one or more of restarting a network attached device,configuring a network attached device, displaying an error message;and/or providing error message information to a technician.

Any of the above aspects, wherein the network attached device is one of:a DHCP server, an AAA server, a DNS server, a router, a proxy server,and a firewall. Any of the above aspects, wherein communication from theisolated access point includes communication over one or more wirelesstransceivers to a mobile device. A system to mitigate a root cause of anaccess point not having connectivity with a network comprising anisolated access point including an error reporting module, processor andmemory that detect that connectivity to the network over a firstcommunication channel has failed the processor and memory automaticallygenerating or acquiring a status message related to the connectivityfailure, a transceiver that automatically broadcasts, with a beaconsignal, and over a second communication channel different than the firstcommunication channel, the status message, a second transceiver in aneighboring device that receives the status message from the isolatedaccess point over the second communication channel, the secondtransceiver forwarding via transmission the status message to a networkmonitoring server over a third communication channel, the thirdcommunication channel being different than the first and secondcommunications channels, the network monitoring server receiving thestatus message and automatically invoking a mitigating action for theisolated access point.

Any of the above aspects, further comprising storage that logs messagesexchanged between the isolated access point and other servers, theprocessor further analyses the message exchange and determines abnormalmessages or an absence of reply messages from the other servers.

Any of the above aspects, further comprising instructions that determinein the isolated access point an abnormal message flow, instructions thatmaps the abnormal message flow to an error code, instructions that forman error message comprising one or more of the error code, messages fromthe isolated access point to one or more other devices, messagesreceived by the isolated access point from one or more other devices,and/or timeout events detected by the isolated access point.

Any of the above aspects, wherein a normal beacon signal is notbroadcast after the failure, the normal beacon signal being replacedwith the beacon signal that includes the status message, the normalbeacon signal is not always broadcast after the failure, the normalbeacon signal being alternated with the beacon signal that includes thestatus message; or the normal beacon signal is not broadcast after thefailure, the normal beacon signal being replaced with the beacon signalthat includes the status message, then normal beacon signal broadcastingresumes.

Any of the above aspects, wherein first communication channel is a wiredcommunication channel. Any of the above aspects, wherein the secondchannel is a Bluetooth broadcast communication channel. Any of the aboveaspects, wherein the third communication channel is one of: a wiredcommunication channel, an Ethernet communication channel, a wiredinternet backhaul communication channel, a Wi-Fi communication channel,and a cellular communication channel. Any of the above aspects, whereinthe network monitoring server further automatically restarts a networkattached device, automatically configures a network attached device,automatically displays an error message; and/or automatically provideserror message information to a technician. Any of the above aspects,wherein the network attached device is one of: a DHCP server, an AAAserver, a DNS server, a router, a switch, a proxy server, and afirewall.

Any of the above aspects, wherein communication from the isolated accesspoint includes communication over one or more wireless transceivers to amobile device. A system to mitigate a root cause of an access point nothaving connectivity with a network comprising means for detecting, by anisolated access point, that connectivity to the network over a firstcommunication channel has failed, means for automatically generating oracquiring, by a processor and memory, a status message related to theconnectivity failure, means for automatically broadcasting, using abeacon signal, and over a second communication channel different thanthe first communication channel, the status message, means forreceiving, by a neighboring device, the status message from the isolatedaccess point over the second communication channel, means for forwardingvia transmitting, by the neighboring device, the status message to anetwork monitoring server over a third communication channel, the thirdcommunication channel being different than the first and secondcommunications channels, means for receiving, at the network monitoringserver, the status message; and means for automatically invoking amitigating action for the isolated access point.

Any of the above aspects, further comprising means for logging messagesexchanged between the isolated access point and other servers, means foranalyzing the message exchange; and means for determining abnormalmessages or an absence of reply messages from the other servers. Any ofthe above aspects, further comprising means for determining by theisolated access point an abnormal message flow, means for mapping theabnormal message flow to an error code, means for forming an errormessage comprising one or more of the error code, messages from theisolated access point to one or more other devices, messages received bythe isolated access point from one or more other devices, and/or timeoutevents detected by the isolated access point.

Any of the above aspects, wherein a normal beacon signal is not sentafter the failure, the normal beacon signal being replaced with thebeacon signal that includes the status message, the normal beacon signalis not always sent after the failure, the normal beacon signal beingalternated with the beacon signal that includes the status message; orthe normal beacon signal is not sent after the failure, the normalbeacon signal being replaced with the beacon signal that includes thestatus message, then normal beacon signal broadcasting resumes.

Any of the above aspects, wherein first communication channel is a wiredcommunication channel. Any of the above aspects, wherein the secondchannel is a Bluetooth broadcast communication channel. Any of the aboveaspects, wherein the third communication channel is one of: a wiredcommunication channel, an Ethernet communication channel, a wiredinternet backhaul communication channel, a Wi-Fi communication channel,and a cellular communication channel. Any of the above aspects, furthercomprising one or more of means for restarting a network attacheddevice, means for configuring a network attached device, means fordisplaying an error message; and/or means for providing error messageinformation to a technician.

Any of the above aspects, wherein the network attached device is one of:a DHCP server, an AAA server, a DNS server, a router, a switch, a proxyserver, and a firewall. Any of the above aspects, wherein communicationfrom the isolated access point includes communication over one or morewireless transceivers to a mobile device.

A non-transitory computer readable information storage media havingthereon instructions that when executed perform any one or more of theabove aspects. A system on a chip (SoC) including any one or more of theabove aspects. One or more means for performing any one or more of theabove aspects. Any one or more of the aspects as substantially describedherein.

While the above-described flowcharts have been discussed in relation toa particular sequence of events, it should be appreciated that changesto this sequence can occur without materially effecting the operation ofthe embodiment(s). Additionally, the exemplary techniques illustratedherein are not limited to the specifically illustrated embodiments butcan also be utilized with the other exemplary embodiments and eachdescribed feature is individually and separately claimable.

The above-described system can be implemented on a wirelesstelecommunications device(s)/system, such an IEEE 802.11 transceiver, orthe like. Examples of wireless protocols that can be used with thistechnology include IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE802.11n, IEEE 802.11ac, IEEE 802.11ad, IEEE 802.11af, IEEE 802.11ah,IEEE 802.11ai, IEEE 802.11aj, IEEE 802.11aq, IEEE 802.11ax, Wi-Fi, LTE,4G, Bluetooth®, WirelessHD, WiGig, WiGi, 3GPP, Wireless LAN, WiMAX,DensiFi SIG, Unifi SIG, 3GPP LAA (licensed-assisted access), and thelike.

Additionally, the systems, methods and protocols can be implemented toimprove one or more of a special purpose computer, a programmedmicroprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integrated circuitelement(s), an ASIC or other integrated circuit, a digital signalprocessor, a hard-wired electronic or logic circuit such as discreteelement circuit, a programmable logic device such as PLD, PLA, FPGA,PAL, a modem, a transmitter/receiver, any comparable means, or the like.In general, any device capable of implementing a state machine that isin turn capable of implementing the methodology illustrated herein canbenefit from the various communication methods, protocols and techniquesaccording to the disclosure provided herein.

Examples of the processors as described herein may include, but are notlimited to, at least one of Qualcomm® Snapdragon® 800 and 801, Qualcomm®Snapdragon® 610 and 615 with 4G LTE Integration and 64-bit computing,Apple® A7 processor with 64-bit architecture, Apple® M7 motioncoprocessors, Samsung® Exynos® series, the Intel® Core™ family ofprocessors, the Intel® Xeon® family of processors, the Intel® Atom™family of processors, the Intel Itanium® family of processors, Intel®Core® i5-4670K and i7-4770K 22 nm Haswell, Intel® Core® i5-3570K 22 nmIvy Bridge, the AMD® FX™ family of processors, AMD® FX-4300, FX-6300,and FX-8350 32 nm Vishera, AMD® Kaveri processors, Texas Instruments®Jacinto C6000™ automotive infotainment processors, Texas Instruments®OMAP™ automotive-grade mobile processors, ARM® Cortex™-M processors,ARM® Cortex-A and ARM926EJ-S™ processors, Broadcom® AirForceBCM4704BCM4703 wireless networking processors, the AR7100 WirelessNetwork Processing Unit, other industry-equivalent processors, and mayperform computational functions using any known or future-developedstandard, instruction set, libraries, and/or architecture.

Furthermore, the disclosed methods may be readily implemented insoftware using object or object-oriented software developmentenvironments that provide portable source code that can be used on avariety of computer or workstation platforms. Alternatively, thedisclosed system may be implemented partially or fully in hardware usingstandard logic circuits or VLSI design. Whether software or hardware isused to implement the systems in accordance with the embodiments isdependent on the speed and/or efficiency requirements of the system, theparticular function, and the particular software or hardware systems ormicroprocessor or microcomputer systems being utilized. Thecommunication systems, methods and protocols illustrated herein can bereadily implemented in hardware and/or software using any known or laterdeveloped systems or structures, devices and/or software by those ofordinary skill in the applicable art from the functional descriptionprovided herein and with a general basic knowledge of the computer andtelecommunications arts.

Moreover, the disclosed methods may be readily implemented in softwareand/or firmware that can be stored on a storage medium to improve theperformance of: a programmed general-purpose computer with thecooperation of a controller and memory, a special purpose computer, amicroprocessor, or the like. In these instances, the systems and methodscan be implemented as program embedded on personal computer such as anapplet, JAVA® or CGI script, as a resource residing on a server orcomputer workstation, as a routine embedded in a dedicated communicationsystem or system component, or the like. The system can also beimplemented by physically incorporating the system and/or method into asoftware and/or hardware system, such as the hardware and softwaresystems of a communications transceiver.

It is therefore apparent that there has at least been provided systemsand methods for enhancing and improving communications reliability.While the embodiments have been described in conjunction with a numberof embodiments, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications andvariations would be or are apparent to those of ordinary skill in theapplicable arts. Accordingly, this disclosure is intended to embrace allsuch alternatives, modifications, equivalents and variations that arewithin the spirit and scope of this disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method performed by an access point configured to mitigate a root cause of the access point not having connectivity to a network, the method comprising: detecting, by the access point, that connectivity to the network over a first communication channel of a first protocol has failed; generating, by the access point, a status message related to the connectivity failure; and broadcasting, using a beacon signal, and over a second communication channel of a second protocol different than the first protocol, the status message.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first protocol uses a distinct frequency range from the second protocol.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first protocol is a Wi-Fi protocol.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second protocol is Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE).
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the status message further comprises analyzing internal debugging information at the access point.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving the status message at a receiving access point, and forwarding, from the receiving access point, the status message to a monitoring server using backhaul connectivity.
 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: receiving at the monitoring server the status message; and invoking, from the monitoring server, a corrective action.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving the status message at a mobile device, the mobile device monitoring beacon signals as part of a location operation, the mobile device being associated with a location server, and forwarding, from the mobile device, the status message to the location server.
 9. A system, comprising: an access point comprising hardware processing circuitry andone or more hardware memories storing instructions that when executed configure hardware processing circuitry of the access point to perform operations comprising: detecting that connectivity to a network over a first communication channel of a first protocol has failed; generating a status message related to the connectivity failure; and broadcasting and over a second communication channel of a second protocol different than the first protocol, the status message.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the first protocol uses a distinct frequency range from the second protocol.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein the first protocol is a Wi-Fi protocol.
 12. The system of claim 9, wherein the second protocol is Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE).
 13. The system of claim 9, wherein generating the status message further comprises analyzing internal debugging information at the access point.
 14. The system of claim 9, further comprising: a receiving access point comprising hardware processing circuitry and one or more hardware memories storing instructions that when executed configure hardware processing circuitry of the receiving access point to perform operations comprising: receiving the status message, and forwarding the status message to a monitoring server using backhaul connectivity.
 15. The system of claim 14, further comprising: the monitoring server comprising hardware processing circuitry and one or more hardware memories storing instructions that when executed configure hardware processing circuitry of the monitoring server to perform operations comprising: receiving the status message; and invoking a corrective action.
 16. The system of claim 9, further comprising: a mobile device comprising hardware processing circuitry and one or more hardware memories storing instructions that when executed configure hardware processing circuitry of the mobile device to perform operations comprising: receiving the status message, the mobile device monitoring beacon signals as part of a location operation, the mobile device being associated with a location server, and forwarding the status message to the location server.
 17. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that when executed, configure hardware processing circuitry of a access point to perform operations comprising: detecting that connectivity to a network over a first communication channel of a first protocol has failed; generating a status message related to the connectivity failure; and broadcasting and over a second communication channel of a second protocol different than the first protocol, the status message.
 18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the first protocol uses a distinct frequency range from the second protocol.
 19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the first protocol is a Wi-Fi protocol.
 20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the second protocol is Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE). 